Medlink Solution Day: Going Green on the Mediterranean-Rhone-Saône Corridor

Reducing the carbon footprint by adopting new transportation models

On October 2, 2024, 350 industrial companies, shippers, forwarding agents, and transport operators participated in the second edition of Medlink Solution Day at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Aix-Marseille-Provence. The event was a chance to discover the rail and river transportation services available along the Mediterranean Rhône-Saône (MeRS) corridor. In 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron announced an ambitious development plan for Marseille, including a program to expand connections between the area’s seaports and the MeRS corridor. This initiative is now being combined with the rail sector’s efforts to win back freight traffic and the new 2024 river transport strategy, which aims to take freight off the roads in favor of the massification of transport modes to allow more units to be moved in a single trip. The Provence Promotion and Only Lyon economic development agencies are aligning their prospecting efforts at events like Medlink Solution Day to jointly promote greener transport options and better support the decarbonization of industrial and logistics companies.

At this year’s Medlink Solution Day, the focus was clear: the need to shift away from truck-only transport and explore lower-carbon options along the Rhône and Saône rivers and associated rail lines. Held in Marseille on October 2, it was the second edition of the transport-sector business conference after the successful launch of the event in Lyon in 2023.

Organized by Medlink Ports, a trade association that works to promote the Mediterranean Rhône-Saône corridor on behalf of 70 members, the conference began with business meetings between 350 participants, shippers, and providers of sustainable transport solutions. “The land and property available in the hinterland along the corridor adds to the appeal of the multimodal offer. The aim is to increase traffic flows thanks to the commitment of the CNR [concessionary for the Rhône River], the VNF [river transport association], and the SNCF Réseau [railway lines] to leverage their networks and to massify freight transport,” said Thomas San Marco, Executive Director of the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône, Chairman of Medlink Ports, and Vice-Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Lyon.

Only Lyon and Provence Promotion join forces to showcase the MeRS corridor

Just as the Only Lyon and Provence Promotion economic development agencies are cooperating on a joint prospecting campaign, ports and network operators are working together to convince international industrial companies that the Mediterranean Rhône-Saône corridor is essential to the green reindustrialization strategy. “The approach we take at BUT is based on CSR. We carry 80% of our shipments between Fos and Lyon by river and 19% by rail, and we have a floating inventory. This is an economic and operational advantage. For the past ten years, our volume of river transport has steadily increased at the request of the company’s leaders,” notes Thomas Daudré-Vignier, Logistics Director at BUT, the French household goods manufacturer.

20 000 hectares of property with options for turnkey installation

As manager of the Rhône River network, the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône is currently renewing four subcontracting agreements for concessions that are due to expire at the end of 2024: in Lyon, Salaise-Sablons, Portes-lès-Valence, and Arles. “By reintroducing competition to the process, the aim is to develop business and increase the volume of river and rail traffic. These objectives are essential for the business missions of our terminals as in terms of the work being done to decarbonize the global supply chain,” emphasizes Laurence Borie Bancel.

As manager of the river network, the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône is currently renewing four subcontracting agreements for concessions that are due to expire at the end of 2024: in Lyon, Salaise-Sablons, Portes-lès-Valence, and Arles. “By reintroducing competition to the process, the aim is to develop business and increase the volume of river and rail traffic. These objectives are key parts of the business missions of our terminals as part of the work being done to decarbonize the global supply chain,” emphasizes Laurence Borie Bancel.

Today, 80% of goods are transported by road and only 4% of freight travels on the Rhône-Saône corridor. However, traffic along this green corridor is set to grow quickly as the world’s leading shipping companies roll out their multimodal strategies and the number of river and rail pre- and post-carriage services increases.